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Friday, 15 November 2013

The loss of SMS Grosser Kurfürst, 1878

In an earlier blog I wrote about the now-forgotten
disaster on the Thames in September 1878 when the excursion paddle steamer
Princess Alice was sunk in a collision with the loss of some 640 lives. This
was however the second major maritime disaster in British waters that year, for
some three months earlier the German ironclad Grosser Kurfürst was also sunk in collision in the English Channel,
taking with her some 270 of her crew.

SMS Grosser Kurfürst under sail

In this period Germany’s navy was still one of the second
rank, intentionally so since the “Iron Chancellor”, Bismarck, saw the newly
established German Empire as primarily a land power, with no significant maritime
ambitions. The intention to build on a scale to challenge the Royal Navy was still
some two decades in the future and the emphasis was primarily on coastal
defence. A small number of high-quality ironclads formed the backbone of the
fleet and by the late 1870s there was increasing awareness of the potential of
mines and torpedo craft to supplement them.

It should be noted that in this period naval theorists
in Germany, as practically everywhere else, saw the ram as a viable offensive
weapon. This stemmed from a fixation on the extensive ramming involved in the Battle
of Lissa in 1866 when the Austro-Hungarian and Italian fleets were pitted
against each other. Sinking in this manner of the one of the principal Italian ironclads
represented the turning point of the battle. For the next four decades the majority
of naval vessels, large and small, were built with ram bows. What was insufficiently
recognised was that the circumstances which allowed close engagement at Lissa
were unlikely to occur in the future, since the growth in power and accuracy of
naval guns meant that combat would occur at ever increasing ranges. Despite this
rams continued to be viewed by many as effective weapons and as late as 1896 Britain’s
Arrogant class of protected cruisers
were specifically designed to allow ramming, manoeuvrability being enhanced by
provision of an extra rudder at the bows, which were themselves strengthened
for impact.

König Wilhelm at anchor

In practice the ram proved to be more of a hazard to
friends than to enemies, and there were numerous cases of serious damage being
inflicted, sometimes fatally, in collisions. The best known of these was the
loss in 1893of HMS Victoria when
rammed by HMS Camperdown. Fifteen
years before this however a comparable disaster was to occur in sight of the English
shore, on this occasion involving the newly completed German ironclad Grosser Kurfürst.

The Grosser
Kurfürst, a ship-rigged central-citadel ironclad, also powered by a 500 hp
steam engine, was of 7596 tons and 316 ft length. She carried the four 10-inch guns
of her main armament in two turrets amidships. She had been commissioned at
Wilhelmshaven on May 6th 1878 and she set off thereafter on a summer
training cruise, in company with her close sister and squadron flagship Preussen and the older central battery
ironclad König Wilhelm. The latter
was of 10591 tons and 368 ft length, her principal armament being 18 9.4-inch muzzleloaders
located in a central battery. She had been built at the Thames Ironworks in
London in the mid-1860s and had been upgraded since.

The moment of collision

On May 31st 1878 all three vessels were steaming
westwards through the Straits of Dover, König WilhelmandPreussen in
line, withGrosser Kurfürst off to starboard and thus closer to the
English coast. Just off Folkestone the
three ships encountered two sailing vessels in their path. Poor manoeuvring to avoid these craft found
König Wilhelmheading directly
for Grosser Kurfürst, with insufficient time available to turn away.
Impact was unavoidable and König
Wilhelm's ram smashed a large hole
in the Grosser Kurfürst’s flank.
Damage control was still an art of the future and inadequate sealing of Grosser
Kurfürst’s watertight bulkheads caused her to sink in eight minutes. Out of a crew of 500 some 270 were lost.

SMS Grosser Kurfürst sinking

The composer Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert and
Sullivan fame, witnessed the accident from a ferry he was sailing on, en route to
Paris. He wrote: "I saw it all – saw the unfortunate vessel slowly go
over and disappear under the water in clear, bright sunshine, and the water
like a calm lake. It was too horrible – and then we saw all the boats moving
about picking up the survivors, some so exhausted they had to be lifted on to
the ships”.

Rescue of survivors by fishing craft, König Wilhelm in background

König Wilhelmwas also badly damaged in the collision, suffering
severe flooding forward.Hercaptain considered beaching
her to prevent her sinking, but was assured that her pumps could hold the
flooding to an acceptable level. The ship therefore made for Portsmouth, where
temporary repairs could be effected to allow the ship to return to Germany.

In the
aftermath of the collision, the German navy held a court martialfor Rear Admiral Batsch, the squadron
commander, and for Captains Monts and Kuehne, the commanders of the two ships,
along with Lieutenant Clausa, the first officer aboard Grosser Kurfürst,
to investigate the sinking. Extensive finger-pointing followed, aimed at
sharing or dodging responsibility, and a series of three further court-martials
followed, before the matter was laid to rest.

SMS König Wilhelm as a traing ship, early 1900s

König Wilhelmwas to have a enjoy a long career thereafter, being rebuilt and rearmed
as a heavy cruiser in 1895/6 and later serving as a training vessel, only
finally being scrapped in 1921.

The loss of the Grosser Kurfürst was a tragedy in itself, but the
other tragedy associated with her loss was that the lessons of the disaster
were not learned and that many more ships were to be sunk, and many men were to
die needlessly, before the folly of the ram bow was to be recognised.

About Me

My "Dawlish Chronicles" are set in the late 19th Century and reflect my deep interest in the politics, attitudes and technology of the period. The fifth novel in the series, “Britannia’s Amazon” is now available in both paperback and Kindle formats. It follows the four earlier Dawlish Chronicles, "Britannia's Wolf", "Britannia's Reach”, "Britannia's Shark" and "Britannia's Spartan". Click on the book covers below to learn more or to purchase.
I’ve had an adventurous career in the international energy industry and am proud of having worked in every continent except Antarctica. History is a driving passion in my life and I have travelled widely to visit sites of historical significance, many insights gained in this way being reflected in my writing. I welcome contact on Facebook and via this Blog. My website is www.dawlishchronicles.com and its “Conflict” section has a large number of articles on topics from the mid-18th Century to the early 20th Century.